Found this gunsmithing video interesting when researching how to fix my "jammed" 642 Airweight. What to do when your revolver is jammed? - YouTube

When asked, S&W support discouraged taking my busted 642 to a gunsmith. The reason: If a gunsmith (licensed or certified matters not) messes up, the S&W warranty is null and void. The S&W solution: ship it to us for free manufacturer warranty based resolution.

Please make a note of the name VDC Firearms....and, please don't take your "jammed" S&W to this guy. A great video demonstration on how to physically damage the cylinder stop, cylinder stop slot, front locking bolt, and the yoke.
It took him exactly one minute and eight seconds to pick up a hammer.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

How can you ship a revolver with a live round in it since a jammed revolver likely is loaded?

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I like Ike.

Never ship a loaded weapon. I didn't.

What did this gunsmith do wrong? And what is the right way?
Thank you.

This is not a gunsmith. In this scenario, you obviously shouldn't hit the side of the cylinder with a hammer to force it open.

What to do:

After determining the gun is empty, work a piece of thin plastic or card stock between the frame and the cylinder, placing it into a position over the cylinder stop. This will push the cylinder stop down, and out of the stop slot in the cylinder, and free up the cylinder so that it can be turned. With the cylinder stop down out of the way, hold the extractor rod still, and turn (rotate) the cylinder counter-clockwise with your hand. This will tighten the extractor rod back into the assembly enough so that the cylinder can be opened in the usual manner.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

Another reason to be a member of this forum.Not sure what made me cringe the most, when he smacked the cylinder open or cranked on the rod without placing empties in the cylinder to support the extractor.Irregardless armorer951 has it right,Thanks.

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SWCA#2288
SWHF#407

Besides the smart guys on this forum, GunBlue490 is where I go for my revolver education. (I've never seen him smack something indiscriminately with a hammer.)

In this video, he covers the cylinder and extraction rod at 45:00 and 1:08:00.

Disassembly and Care of the S&W Revolver ~ Learn how to from a Factory Trained Armorer! - YouTube


Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk

Lots of smart people contribute to this forum. These folks make coming here worthwhile and counterbalance the occasional salty jerk.

I once saw the same thing on the Military Arms Channel (MAC) on YouTube. In his defense he admitted is a semi-auto guy that knows little about revolvers.

I had the ejector rod come loose a couple of times on 610 I used to own. Since it happened at the range I pulled the trigger while it was pointed at a target 6 more times, looked at the front of the cylinder to make sure all the rounds had fired to make 100% sure it was empty, held the rod still with my left hand positioned away from the cylinder gap, and with the gun pointed down range pulled the trigger back with my right hand and slowly let the hammer down a few times until I could get the gun open.

The credit card trick above would have been a much better way to handle this but I wasn't expecting the revolver to have this problem and wanted to get the gun open at the range. That some people would handle this by bashing it open with a hammer never occurred to me. I guess that explains why some used S&Ws have bent ejector rods

The more I thought about it I finally remembered this guy.He worked for Gunsmoke and the Wyatts who had a TV program on Discovery I think.I remember them test firing large caliber rifles into a barrel and yelling the caliber out before firing,sounded dramatic for TV l guess. That should say it all.What a knucklehead.

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SWCA#2288
SWHF#407

If my revolver jammed, I would go for my backup M 37 in my ankle holster. Of course, that was 40 years ago and times may have changed

Neither works if a bullet is fired primer only and sticks between the forcing cone and the bbl.
I agree that the ejector rod is a much more common occurrence.

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Front sight and squeeze

That is true, but picking up a hammer and wacking the cylinder to free it with a bullet stuck between forcing cone and cylinder WILL screw up the yoke and cylinder way before the bullet shears. In that case simply running a rod down the muzzle and tapping the bullet back into the case is the correct method. I cannot imagine a situation where I would hit the side of a cylinder with any kind of hammer and I have nylon, brass and lead hammers.

There ya go

Be aware of loose primer pocket bores when reloading it’s the only revolver jam I ever had. The pressure in the case pushed the primer half way out of its pocket.

I thought that when a revolver jams or runs out of ammo you were supposed to throw it at the bad guy. At least that's what I saw in the movies and TV shows of my youth.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

Wow, quite the hack. It sounds like he regularly hits guns with hammers. I'll definitely stay away.

I have to admit that I liked that American Gun show, but actually mostly for the wife and daughter. They must have gotten a package deal on the "enhancements". Didn't that guy end up in the joint for tax issues?

Yes, that daughter is very "watchable"!

Gun dealer who became Discovery Channel star sent to prison for 6 years for dealing weapons without a license – The Denver Post

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I had a Model 640 that jammed. My gunsmith tilted the gun up which allowed the broken firing pin to retract. He had seen this before.

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I like Ike.

I think he needed a bigger hammer, my favorite is a 48 oz ball pein hammer. Don’t need any ball joint or tie rod forks. Just one good smack.
I could hammer forge that revolver into something else maybe a good knife with a revolver handle? Lol, it’s late, can’t sleep, just funning.

Where’s my new n frames? Hammer time it’s not dancing.

They sell tools to anybody with no education how to use them.

OK, he ain't much of a revolver smith, but I bet he can really handle a ham sandwich

Always say something positive about people.

I've had three guns that jammed. One semi-auto and two revolvers.

I gave one away and sold the other two.

Kind of hard to trust them after having problems with them even if they get "fixed".

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

Impact hammer or nothin!

Just kidding. I cannot ever remember taking a hammer to my gun.
Well, i had to remove a squib once. But some Kroil made it quite easy.

I've been shooting revolvers for about 55 years and never saw this issue, or would know what to do about it if I did. Learned something new today thank to you.